Kobe Luminarie

Getty Images

Some 70,000 people look at the "Kobe Luminarie" illumination at a shopping mall in Kobe in Hyogo prefecture, western Japan. The annual light festival, which began in 1995 to boost the spirits of locals who experienced the Kobe earthquake in January 1995, or the 'Great Hanshin Earthquake' as it is known in Japan, will be carried through to December 12.

Some 70,000 people look at the "Kobe Luminarie" illumination at a shopping mall in Kobe in Hyogo prefecture, western Japan. The annual light festival, which began in 1995 to boost the spirits of locals who experienced the Kobe earthquake in January 1995, or the 'Great Hanshin Earthquake' as it is known in Japan, will be carried through to December 12. (Getty Images)

Some 70,000 people look at the "Kobe Luminarie" illumination at a shopping mall in Kobe in Hyogo prefecture, western Japan. The annual light festival, which began in 1995 to boost the spirits of locals who experienced the Kobe earthquake in January 1995, or the 'Great Hanshin Earthquake' as it is known in Japan, will be carried through to December 12.